Even though, I love you
by RoyEmblem
Summary: A somewhat sad story about Marth, Ike's love for Marth and Marth's hate for Ike. contains Ike x Marth and more. DISCONTINUED.
1. Chapter 1

Even Though, I love you

An audiance pooled into the colleseum like a swarm of hungry flies. This match would be a good one. Prince Marth readied himself behind the scenes, taking a deep breath and making a good atempt to remain composed. The gaunt boy stood stifly, a hand planted firmly on his scabbard. His icy, blue eyes darted among the faceless shapes calling his name. He walked onto the feild, holding great dignity in his straight stance. The crowd roared in excitement. "MARTH, MARTH, MARTH!" They screamed and countless women leaned over the edge to get his attention. He ignored them, taking centerfeild.

The blue-haired boy waited for his unknown opponent to reach him. The other man was taller than him, with steeley blue eyes and wild blue hair. Marth coughed as his heart raced, his asthma. The other swordsman bore a cocky smile that infuriated Marth deep down to his core. "Ike and Marth have taken centerfeild!" A voice cried. Marth looked up curiously at Ike as the male extended a muscular arm. They shook hands repectivly, Ike's large hand closing around Marth's small, soft one. "May the best brawler win." Ike chuckled, backing up. Marth huffed. "He must think I'm a woman!" He thought bitterly.

Marth unsheathed his silver sword quickly, ready for battle. Ike on the other hand, had Raggnir planted firmly in the ground, his arms draped over it cassually. "Cocky Bastard..." Marth hissed under his breath, icy, emotionless eyes narrowed. Ike yawned and waited for the starting bell. It rang out, echoing and Marth sprang into action, using his intense speed to dash up to Ike, planning a quick stab. Marth was alarmed by how Ike remained unmoving, even as his sword came near him and he faltered, stumbling. Ike took his chance kicked Marth onto the ground, picking Raggnir up. Marth, still confused by the last blow recieved a firm punch to the chest. He coughed and rolled out of the way just in time to dodge a heavy blow from Raggnir. Ike went to recover and lift the sword again but Marth was too fast, knocking his legs out from under him and standing. He rushed toward Ike again and slashed, feeling the blade tear at cloth and then flesh.

Ike groaned in pain and stood, grabbing Marth by the sleeve. He punched the other male in the face and then kneed him in the stomach. Marth doubled over in pain and Ike planted a heavy, blood-splattering blow to Marth's backside. The smaller boy hit the ground with a thud and remained unmoving other than the heaving breaths that rasped from him. Ike grabbed him by the back of his hair and lifted his head up, causing him to cry in pain. Ike slapped him firmly across the face. Ike proceeded to lift Marth up by his blue hair, until he was standing, blood covering his face. "Fight me like a man." Ike egged him on, swinging Raggnir and shoving Marth forcefully. Marth, full of new hatred began a dancing flurry of furious slashes, most of them catching the extra cloth of Ike's outfit. Ike smirked. Finally, a powerful opponent. Marth grabbed Ike by the sleeve, imobilizing him just enough the slice him across the cheek. The crowd boo'd as more and more blood was drawn from both boys. Someone had to die.

Marth whimpered and attempted at standing up straight, one eye shut tight from where he'd been slapped. Ike looked up, covering the slice over his cheek, scarlet blood drizzling between his fingers. The mersenary then lunged forward and grabbed Marth by the throat, forcing him to the ground again. The match was obviously one sided. Marth just couldn't hit the powerful man. At every atempt, he was thrown to the earth again. The altean didn't dare stand again and remained motionless on the ground, sides heaving. Ike chuckled. "WE LIKE IKE! WE LIKE IKE!" The crowd roared and Ike sheathed his sword, victorious.

It would take quite some time to sort this one out. Marth was not in good shape. Ike, being the decent man he was, scooped the mangled prince into his arms and with the help of two Alloys, he slowly limped to the medical wing. The alloys took Marth to a seperate bed and Ike sat on another. Peach, the nurse came in and smiled sweetly at Ike.

"What have we here? Let's see. Ouch, those look pretty bad. I'll get some Dream Water." She said, skipping over to a shelf full of various healing potions, herbs and medicines. The princess grabbed a small vile full of purple water and returned to Ike. "Dream Water can heal scars, but takes longer than other healers. You've got a pretty nasty slice on your face, we want that to heal neatly, not into a scar." She explained, dropping the weightless liquid on a cloth. entered and checked Marth. He made a few 'tsk tsk tsk's and went into the other room to get something to clean the poor boy up.

Ike winced. Marth's condition was critical, his face swollen and his body gored and battered. The slender Prince's pretty face was scrunched into a pained expression. Ike had to admit, at first he'd believed Marth was a woman because of his rather feminine body and pretty face. He still found Marth to be pretty, even if he was a man. It was fine for Ike to think Marth was pretty right? Ike shook the thoughts away. Mario re-entered the room with a small damp cloth, accompanied by the Toadstool Princess carrying a small ceramic bowl. They washed Marth's body, finishing once he was no longer bloody and the white cloth was stained pink.

Peach turned to Ike. "The water will heal him now. Will you be a dear and bring him to his room? You know where it is right?"

Ike nodded. "Yes, isn't it right next to mine? Because we're from the same universe."

Peach giggled and nodded in return. "Yes, yes. Room Eleven, connected to yours, Room Ten."

Ike sighed and already feeling much better say for some aches and pains, slid off his bed and walked over to the fallen Prince, scooping him up. Marth groaned painfully in his sleep and wrapped his arms around Ike's neck instinctivly, earning a pink face from the mercenary. Peach giggled knowingly and pranced out of the room to tend to Fox.

Ike kicked his door open and walked into the blue-grey depths of his sancturary. He did most of his thinking here, alone. This was acctually the first time anyone else had been in here with him. He had been aware of Marth's presence, hearing him next door cooking and various other things, but he'd never acctually seen or spoken to the altean. He slid open the divider door between the two rooms and walked in. Marth's room was extreamly tidy and clean. Ike wouldn't be surprised to see sparkles in the air, or his reflection in the walls. He snorted and walked to the large bed Marth slept in alone and placed the blue-haired boy in it. Marth mumbled something in his sleep and rolled onto his side, making his hips appear even bigger. Ike chuckled and took that moment to gaze around the room. He looked under the bed curiously and found that it, too, was spotless. Not even one book or sock thrown under. "Neat Freak." He growled, straitening up.

"I do take that to offence." Ike jumped at the soft yet irritated voice. He spun around to see that Marth's icy, expressionless eyes were open and narrowed.

"I'm sorry...I uh...the nurse asked me to bring you up." Ike tried to explain why he was in another man's room and looking under his bed like some nosey theif.

"Well I suppose I should thank you. That doesn't, of course, give you the consent to snoop around my house." The altean was thuroughly aggitated as far as Ike could tell.

"I said I'm sorry, all right...it's just so clean in here." Ike grumbled, shifting in the stiffness of the air.

Marth snorted. "Right, well, I'd like to take a shower so if you don't mind..."

"Right, right. Cya later maybe?"

"Hopefully not."

"...nice to talk to you too..." Ike let himself back into his own room and slammed the door. What a snob.


	2. Chapter 2

Marth opened his eyes to stare up at the bland, white ceiling. He groaned and with much effort, managed to sit up. He almost imidiatly regretted the action, clutching at the pain in his slender stomach. He remembered the fight as soon as the pain hit him, and his resentment of Ike.

The altean finished his morning routine and walked out into the hallway, fully dressed in a clean, blue tunic that matched his eyes. He adgusted his tiara selfconsciously, making his way to the huge, marble stairs that led downstairs and to the dinning hall. He hoped to see his friend, Link. The blonde hylian was good company and easy to get along with. Marth walked passed the enormous, wooden, double doors and into the dinning hall. He'd been here only once, three days ago when he'd first arrived. The blue-haired altean made his way to an empty table and sat down. He wasn't feeling hungry at all. The thought of food made his stomach swim. A small, blonde boy, probably no older than nine sat across from him, an apple in hand. He was soon accompanied by another boy his age who had a red cap atop his head. Marth flashed a false smile at the two of them, before returning to day-dreaming about things other than food. That might keep him from puking all over the place.

The young boys finished their food and then ran off, giggling. How wonderful, to be young and carefree again. A familiar, gruff voice could be heard nearby and Marth raised his head to listen.

"Yeah yeah, I see your mouth moving, but all I hear is crap." Ussual old Link. The blonde boy made his way over and sat across from Marth. He rolled his eyes and gave an exhaggerated sigh. "Women." He growled. "Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."

Marth nodded in agreement even though he didn't fully understand what had happened, watching Link devour his pancakes like a starving bear. "Do you even chew your food, Link?" Marth couldn't help but smile at the hylian, who grunted in reply.

"Hey, I'm used to eating slim rabbits and berries and crap. This stuff isn't half bad." He pushed his plate toward the prince. "Try it."

Marth covered his mouth with a delicate hand. "Hnnn...Link...I don't feel good, please..."

Link laughed. "That's what getting killed does to ya' huh?"

Marth still didn't understand the process of dying here, other than the fact that death in this realm was irrelivent in the real world and that Brawlers who died could be revived in the hospital. The blue-eyed boy looked away from Link now. The smell of the pancakes was almost too much to bare. He tried to focus on something else. That's when something caught his eye. Red. Marth squinted to see into the line of Brawlers waiting to get food. The person he'd found interresting was a short boy. He was probably about fourteen, based on his height. He had firey, red hair that fell softly over his round, freckled face. Marth wondered what it was about him that seemed to brighten up the room and drag all the light to him. Link chuckled behind him.

"The redhead, right? That's Roy."

Marth sputtered. "Huh? Oh...yeah. How did you know?"

Link nodded briskly. "He has that kind of light, you know? Not in a literal sense, he just seems to demand attention. It's how he carries himself. He's a really cool guy. You should talk to him. Oh hey, I know! I'll call him over."

Marth blinked in astonishment as Link called across the dinning hall. "ROY! YO! ROY, COME HERE!" Marth covered his face and turned away as Link recieved multiple, outraged stares. If anyone asks, I don't know him.

The redhead looked over and grinned. "OK!" He yelled, grabbing his plate and strolling over. He carried himself well, despite his short stature, he obviously felt very highly of himself. He had confidence which he showed with each step. The boy sat next to Link and smiled at Marth. "Hiya, I'm Roy. Who are you, miss?"

Marth seethed. "I'm Prince Marth of Altea." He tried to sound more pleasant than he felt.

"OH! I'M SO SORRY! I DIDN'T SEE YOUR FACE WELL ENOUGH!" The redhead dropped his head against the table with a painful THUMP.

Marth jumped at the sound. "You mean you did get a good look, you just thought I was a woman..." Marth hissed under his breath. He resented his feminine face.

Roy sat back up, almost too quickly and swayed, dizzy a moment. He now had a big, red mark on his forhead but he seemed not to be in pain and just smiled. His large, crystaline, blue eyes blinked curiously at Marth and he tilted his head. "Talk much?"

Marth smiled slightly. He wondered what it was about Roy that was so annoying and yet, warm at the same time. Link, who had all but been forgotten returned from washing his plate and sat down next to Roy again. Another boy, maybe even younger than Roy followed and sat next to him. The boy had soft-looking, chocolate brown hair and large, blue eyes. The strangest thing about him, though, was that he had large, feathery wings. "This is Pit, Marth. He's from Skyworld."

Marth smiled. "Nice to meet you Pit."

Pit giggled shyly but didn't speak, hugging to Link like a lost child. Link seemed not to care and yawned loudly. Marth felt nervous at that minute, feeling as though eyes were burning into him. The altean turned in his seat and saw that a tall, dark-skinned man was looking at him, yellow eyes feirce. Marth felt as though he may feint from the intensity in those disturbing eyes. He turned back to the friendly faces in front of him, feeling no comfort. "I uh...I'm going to head back to my room...I don't feel very good." He stood and walked out of the large room quickly. Who ever that shady man was, he didn't want to know. He just knew he was bad news.

The altean slammed his door and sat on his bed, folding his arms over his lithe body nervously. That man had made him so upset. Why? A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in."

The door opened and Link peaked in, hesitantly. "You alright, Marth? Feeling ok?"

Marth nodded. "Just...a little sore. I'm sorry."

Link nodding in understanding. "Ok, just making sure. Roy came too, he was worried he upset you."

Marth shook his head. "Oh no no no, in fact, I find Roy quite charming. He's pleasant to be around. I just felt a little sick so I came up here to breath my own air a minute, I'm fine now." He reasurred Link, hoping his lie would go over.

Link smiled. "Ok then."

"Does he hate me?" Roy's voice.

"No! he left because he's feeling ill. Nothing to do with you Roy." He ruffled the boy's long, red hair.

"Hey!" Roy shrank away from him.

Marth giggled and stood up from his large bed to stand in the doorway. The two other swordsman looked up at him, nervously as if he may fall over. He looked at the shorter boys and smiled as if to appease them. "I'm fine, really."

Link nodded. "Ok, I'll buy it."

Roy bit his lip. Marth looked at the freckled boy and then at his blonde compainion. "To the common room?" The red-haired boy asked Marth brushed a stray strand of hair from his face. Link nodded.

"Yeah, maybe we'll see a good fight on the moniter."

"Yeah!" Roy squeaked, making punching motions.

"Alright..." Marth sighed, he wasn't about to fight a useless battle. Link was very persuasive when he wanted to be and Marth didn't feel like arguing with him.


	3. Chapter 3

Ike sighed quietly, watching Marth walk by. "I have to talk to him...i have to...maybe ask how he is...or something..." He'd realized how much he acctually was itching to talk to the other swordsman. It bothered him how Marth resented him and seemed to be avoiding him. Maybe if he was nice to him, the fairskinned altean would be his friend, as opposed to his enemy. Ike strolled over cassually and leaned against the wall nearby where Marth was standing, skimming through a book. The Crimmean cleared his throat in order to be noticed. Marth looked up, his eyes turning to slits of resentment.

"Oh, hello, Ike." He sounded annoyed.

Oh boy. Ike smiled weakly. "Hiya, Marth. Feeling better?"

Marth snorted. "If that's some kind of smartass joke, I'm not into it."

"No, I meant it sincerely. How are you feeling?"

Marth looked at him, untrusting. "I'm feeling fine, thanks for your concern."

Ike nodded. Goddesses how awkward this was. "Yes, I was really worried...I haven't spoken to you since-"

Marth cut him off. "Since you kicked my ass, yes, I'm well aware. That may or may not have been because I was purposly avoiding you."

Ike felt himself smile. "May or may not have been?"

Marth didn't smile but he chuckled, almost darkly, his emotionless eyes hidden by a veil of blue hair. "I was, acctually. Avoiding you I mean...I've gathered you arn't a sharp one, are you?"

"What?" Ike frowned.

"Well, you haven't taken any of my hints. I hate you, Ike."

Ike flushed. "You...hate me?"

"How about, I pick you up by your hair, bitch slap you, and tell _you_ to fight like a man. Oh, and then, right after that, come running up to you acting as though I'm your best friend in the whole world."

Ike's face turned red. "I get carried awa-"

"Yes, I've gathered that. Now if you don't mind, I'd rather _not_ have your company."

Ike, infuriated, stomped out of the room, a snort of irritation from Marth. The crimmean spun around the corner and leaned against it. That was rough. Ike covered his face in his hands. There was no way he could ever face Marth again. The altean hated him.

Roy nibbled at his dinner halfheartedly, blue eyes half closed with exhaustion. His latest match against Metanight had left him drained of almost all of his energy. The spagettii in front of him suddenly seemed unappeizing. He sighed and rested his head against his gloved hand, yawning sleepily, his energy dwindling. The rule sheet in front of him seemed unnapealing and he pushed it away. He'd memorized the rules anyway.

1. Raising your weapon against The Hands is forbidden.

2. Interfereing in an official match is forbidden.

3. Refusing to attack once an official match has been started is also prohibited.

Failure to follow these rules will result in immidiate discharge from the tournament.

Roy yawned again, rubbing an eye. Maybe he'd just rest his head on the table a little while. Yeah.

Marth walked into the dinninghall and found Roy, sound asleep at the table. He smiled and approached the smaller boy, rousing him by shaking his shoulders gently.

"Roy, Roy wake up."

"Huh? Wha?" The freckled general sat up and blinked sleepily, looking around confused.

Marth laughed and patted his shoulder in a friendly way. "Up we go, Roy. Come on, Roy, you can sleep in your room."

The tired boy stood clumsily and walked toward the doors, followed by Marth. Marth helped him up the stairs, pushing on his back to keep him from falling down the stairs. They came to room twelve, Roy's room. Roy went to open the door and then stopped, turning to Marth. "It's locked."

Marth blinked, confused a moment before he understood. "Don't you have the key?"

Roy whimpered. "It must have fallen out of my pocket during my fight today..."

Marth sighed. "Too late to go look for it, the battle grounds are closed this late at night. We'll get the key tomorrow. You can sleep in my room tonight if you have no where else to go."

Roy looked at the floor, giggling at the suggestion. "Ok!''

Marth blinked. He had expected at least some hesitation, but he realized then that it was Roy, and Roy said exactly what he thought without hesitating. The fair-haired altean unlocked his door and let Roy in first, flicking on the light and closing the door behind them both. "I have an extra cot in the back, you're free to sleep in it."

Roy nodded. "Ok."

Marth went to retrieve the cot from his closet. This gave Roy time to examine the spotless room. His room looked so clean. Roy's room was more like a train wreck. Marth returned with the unfoldable bed and set it up, giving Roy space to set it up to his own liking. Marth walked over to his own bed and sighed, sitting on the edge of it. He turned to speak, then realized that his younger compainion had fallen asleep already, in an odd possition on his cot. Marth giggled quietly and took off his boots, sliding under the covers and turning out the light by his bed.

"Goodnight, Roy."

Marth opened his eyes, gazing up at his familiar ceiling. Three weeks now, he and Roy had shared a room. The boy seemed to come up with a new excuse for why he couldn't find the key. Marth had just given up, he liked the company anyhow. The prince yawned quietly and went to roll onto his side, only to feel displaced warmth by his side. He opened his eyes again to find himself nose-to-nose with the freckled general. He blushed and sat up, bringing Roy some of the way up with him, seeing as how the redhead's arms were wrapped tightly around his waist. Marth's face turned a deep shade of red as he tried to pry the boy's clasped hands off of him. Roy whined in his sleep and clung tighter, rubbing his face on Marth's abdomen. The altean un-clasped Roy's hands and pulled him off, sliding off the bed and taking a moment to steady his heart-rate.

Marth buried his inner feelings for Roy deep inside himself and went to go make breakfast for himself, brushing off his odd thoughts. Roy stirred in his sleep and muttered something softly. The altean prince began to make some toast, popping four peices of bread into the toaster. He'd make Roy some food too. The awkwardness of earlier's awkwardness was still buzzing in Marth's mind, even as Roy trudged noisily into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. Marth smiled at the younger boy and offered him a plate of toast, now fully toasted and spread with butter. Roy smiled through his cloud of sleep and took the plate gingerly, sitting at the small, black coffee table by the window.

Marth frowned, wondering if Roy had conciously gotten into his bed with him, or if it had been an innocent accident. Roy was a heavy sleeper after all, he may have just been walking in his sleep. Somewhere, in the back of Marth's mind, he was wishing it wasn't an accident.


	4. Chapter 4

Ike frowned. Marth had been spending more and more time with that Roy kid. Ike couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Roy was his friend, and obviously really close to him. Ike wondered why it mattered so much to him. He shook his head. Soren was coming today, that was something to look forward to at least. He hadn't seen his best friend in ages and missed the black-haired sage.

Ike made his way to a table in the middle of the DinningHall. He took a seat and waited patiently for Soren's arrival. The crimmean Mercenary tapped the table with his fingers, his patience slowly dwindling.

"Miss me?"

"Good Goddesses, Soren!" Ike sood and embraced the long-haired boy lovingly.

"Brother~!" Soren was highly pleased by the hug, obviously taking it as more than Ike did.

The mercenary pulled away from the sage and smiled. "I missed you, brother." He chuckled.

Soren returned the smile, brushing some strands of black hair from his moon-white face, revealing the horizontal S mark on his forhead. His deep, red eyes glowed with his admiration of Ike. Ike sighed and sat back down, accompanied by Soren, who sat across from him. "So, how are things, Ike?" The sage asked with innocent curiosity.

Ike sighed heavily. "Not so good acctually. There's this Prince, Marth. He's avoiding me and being agressive to me...I just want to be able to just like, stand next to the guy without him bitch-staring at me..."

Soren nodded, smirking. "And what have you done to make him so upset, Ike?" Soren mused.

Ike blinked. "I beat him up."

Soren tilted his head back and gave out a soft string of musical giggles. When he sat back up, his long silky hair flew in strands around his face. "Nice one, well that's why he's so angry."

Ike shrugged. "Well...It was a Brawl..."

Soren sighed. "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten." The sage stood and began to walk away.

As the quote began to sink in, Ike stood, startled by his realization. "I think I understand..."

Soren winked. "Then go confess it t him."

"What?"

"You love him. Go tell him."

Ike, about to respond was cut short as Soren dissapeared just as mysterious as he'd come. Soren was just mysterious that way. Ike looked down. "I...I love him?" His confession to himself began to confuse him further. "I love him. I love Marth."

Marth frowned. "Really, Link. _Really_?" He crossed his arms, a familiar icy sheild coming over his face.

Link laughed at his expression. "Lighten up, princess. A party would be great for everyone."

The altean rolled his eyes. "Not necessarily. You can't just propose a party onto everyone."

The green-clad hylian snorted. "Whatever...but everyone's invited so you'd better come."

Marth bid Link farewell, giving him a weak-wristed wave. A party didn't sound at all appealing. The royal strode down the hall at an average pace, his mind elsewhere. He hummed quietly to himself, then remembered he had a match today. It would be against Pikachu. 'Great...' He thought sarcastically 'Like I really need an electric shock to the face right now...'

After his victory, Marth made his way to the locker room to wash up. He passed Pit along the way who was looking quite sleepy, sitting at a picnic table outside with his chin propped up on his hand. The cherub's eyelids were betraying him. The altean prince chuckled at this and walked into the steamy chamber, his destination. He made his way to his locker and unlocked it, unfastening his belt and removing his armor, now only having his tunic and pants on. He shoved his things into his locker and made his way to the showers. He preffered undressing in private.

The prince closed the door to the shower stall and unbuttoned his tunic and stripped off his pants, stepping into the stream of water spouting from over his head. The scalding water soothed his sore muscles and caused his cuts and burns to sting, but he couldn't care less. He just wanted the blood off. He finished rinsing himself and turned off the water, towling off. He dressed within the stall. (Apperently he liked _dressing_ in private too XD) As the altean exited the stall and began to walk down the hallway to his locker, he realized he'd left his crown inside. He'd of course need to retrieve it. The blunette spun around on the spot and jogged back toward the shower he'd recently occupied, only to find the interresting sight of Ike's naked backside.

"Oops..." He squeaked, his face reddening.

Ike seemed not to have heard him and went on rinsing his well-toned body. No. Marth shook the thoughts away. He slid behind the wall and cleared his throat. "Ike."

Ike stopped and turned off the water, leaning his head out and letting his soaking, blue hair spatter water on the floor. Marth looked away. "I left my crown in there, may I have it?"

...

Ike laughed at Marth's attempt at hiding his scarlet face. "Sure, I'll get your tiara."

Marth stomped furiously. "It's a CROWN!" He corrected, crossing his arms.

"What ever, crown, mantara, same difference." Ike shot back, handing the silver ringlet back to its owner. Marth snatched it from his hand.

"Thanks." He said, empty of all emotion.

Ike couldn't help but feel dissapointed. He'd wanted to see Marth half naked. Ike felt his face reddening. 'No...what am I thinking, that's just...wrong on so many levels...'

Marth cleared his throat again and exited the locker room, thuroughly embarrassed.


End file.
